Chapter 97 - 98: Finally, We Can Get to Work

Chapter 97: Chapter 98: Finally, We Can Get to Work

"Fencing off farmland to raise chickens might be a problem."

Chen Yuan shook his head.

Current regulations placed enormous emphasis on the proper use of farmland — there was even a slogan going around about protecting farmland the same way you’d protect giant pandas. That alone showed just how seriously the government took it.

Of course, if you wanted to let a few or even a few dozen free-range chickens roam your own fields, that was perfectly fine.

A modest number of free-range chickens could actually peck at wild grass, wheat seedlings, and insects, which meant they had no negative impact on the land whatsoever — in fact, it was about as natural and green a farming method as you could get.

That kind of arrangement was not only allowed under the rules but actively encouraged, and plenty of folks in the countryside already did it.

The problem was that a few dozen birds was nowhere near enough.

At the current rate of one or two chickens a day, a few dozen would be gone within a month or two, and there simply wasn’t enough time to breed replacements. The best approach would be to raise them in batches, with at least several hundred per batch.

But at that scale, farming them on regular fields was definitely out.

"Just have a word with Chen Wenbin. The man gave you the green light to blast through a hillside — raising a few chickens is nothing by comparison. And you’d be using your own land, not taking anything from anyone else."

Chen Jun tossed his cigarette butt into the firebox under the stove and said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

His son’s relationship with Chen Wenbin was clearly solid — if the man had handed over permission to carve into a mountain, fencing off a bit of farmland for chickens wouldn’t even register as an issue.

"Yu City Village has how many households? You can’t just hand us every perk going — the other families would never stand for it."

Chen Yuan flicked his own cigarette butt into the firebox, where it was swallowed up by the flames in an instant.

"If all else fails, just buy them~"

Tang Ying smiled and tossed out another option, all while tossing the vegetables in the wok.

"That won’t work. Customers are paying specifically for proper free-range chicken. Swap it out for whatever substandard stuff they’re selling at the market and people will definitely complain."

Chen Jun shot the idea down flat.

The food they served had already built up a solid reputation — partly because the portions were generous and the flavors were good, but also because the vegetables were homegrown and the chickens were raised right there on the property.

Fresh, healthy, nutritious — nothing that rolled off some factory assembly line could even come close.

Switch to market stock and the quality would take a nosedive. Customers would grumble, the reputation would take a hit, and the fishing pond business would suffer right along with it.

They’d worked hard to build that name for themselves. It could only go up from here — never down.

"Free-range chicken dishes can only be made with the real thing."

Chen Yuan agreed with Chen Jun entirely.

He’d been thinking the same thing. Sure, the system store was powerful enough that sourcing free-range chickens wouldn’t be an issue, but seeing was believing. What customers could see with their own eyes was what put them at ease.

Think about it — chickens delivered by truck versus chickens that had been running around the yard their whole lives. Which one would customers actually believe was the real deal?

"What are you two even thinking? Do I look like someone who’d shoot myself in the foot?"

Tang Ying shot both father and son a look, somewhere between amused and exasperated. "What I meant was, if our own aren’t enough, just buy from the villagers. Every family around here raises a few chickens."

"Now that’s a solid idea."

Chen Jun laughed and nodded approvingly.

Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up a little.

What he was thinking went beyond simply buying chickens from the neighbors — this could be an opportunity to use poultry farming as a way to help drive the whole village’s economy.

"I’ll have a chat with Uncle Bin about this sometime."

Good arable land was off-limits for large-scale farming, but there was plenty of abandoned and wasteland that could be put to use — and if that wasn’t enough, they could always get the villagers involved.

Of course, environmental concerns would have to be addressed before any of that, otherwise the authorities would come down hard.

But that wasn’t something Chen Yuan was worried about. When it came to construction and development, Wang Tao was the professional.

The real question was how to set up the farming operation itself.

He’d need to sit down and think it through properly with Uncle Bin.

"Alright, stop feeding the fire — get up and start packing the lunchboxes. Once that’s done, go check on Sister-in-law’s side. Yuan, you’re on offal stir-fry."

With the main dishes finished, Tang Ying called the two of them to get moving.

She left the lunchbox packing and side dishes to the father and son while Chen Yuan, taking advantage of the remaining firewood in the firebox, quickly rinsed out the wok. Once the water dried off, he poured in cooking oil, waited for the heat to rise and smoke to appear, then tossed in the ingredients.

Tang Ying packed lunchboxes on one side while tending a pot of chicken blood on the back burner — a big hearty stew that smelled fantastic.

"I brought some chicken soup over."

Before Chen Jun even had a chance to head over to Chen Kingdom’s side to help, Chen Kingdom came over himself carrying a basin of chicken soup and headed straight for the main hall.

Sharing a bowl of soup with the customers — not a bad spread at all.

"Make sure those guys get some too — we promised meals were included, and we can’t shortchange them."

Chen Jun hollered out toward the yard.

"Oh, they’re being well taken care of — Sister-in-law Lin was the first one to sort them out. With food this good, they’re all going to be putting on weight before long~"

Liu Fang came through from the back carrying side dishes, grinning toward the kitchen as she spoke.

When the side dishes were piling up, Liu Fang pitched in to help Lin Cuiju; when there were too many lunchboxes to handle, she switched over to help Tang Ying. Flexible employment at its finest.

"If you’re worried about gaining weight, just eat less~"

Chen Dequan had just come back from the fish pond and walked into the yard in time to catch those words. He took the side dishes from her and laughed.

"You little shit — are you calling me fat?"

Liu Fang shot him a glare. If her hands hadn’t been full of food, she’d have smacked him already.

"How would I dare? By my standards, you could put on another twenty pounds and still be perfectly proportioned~"

That answer had Chen Jun and the others laughing and egging them on, and Liu Fang actually flushed a little.

Chen Yuan craned his neck to peek out and gave Chen Dequan a slow, impressed thumbs-up.

Didn’t see that coming — Uncle Chen could actually pull off a cheesy pickup line when he wanted to. Who knew he had that kind of game?

Still, hearing something like that come out of a guy in his forties or fifties was just... a little weird~

"Lunchboxes are ready~"

Chen Jun came out of the kitchen carrying lunchboxes in both hands. Chen Dequan and Liu Fang set down the side dishes, came over to grab the boxes, and headed off toward the fish pond.

"Dinner time for us too~"

Chen Yuan called out as he plated the stir-fried offal.

Tang Ying’s big stew pot was nearly done as well. She dished everything up and carried it through to the main hall.

"Want a beer?"

Chen Jun called over to Chen Yuan. He’d normally just grab one without asking, but Chen Yuan had knocked back a few shots of baijiu at lunch and he wasn’t sure if the kid still felt like drinking.

"Absolutely, beer’s fine."

Chicken offal and chicken blood were both great — pair them with an ice-cold beer and it was pure bliss.

After dinner, his parents headed back out to the vegetable garden, while Chen Yuan lounged in the yard recliner for a while before hopping on the three-wheeler and cruising over to the fish pond~

"Lots of new faces tonight~"

He squeezed the handbrake and pulled the three-wheeler over to the side of the road, jumped off, and walked up the small slope to take in the whole pond at a glance. There were barely any familiar faces in the crowd.

It wasn’t just tonight either — most of the people who’d booked spots over the past couple of days had been first-timers.

The damn system was at least fair about it: the first round of bookings prioritized new users, giving them a higher chance of securing a spot than returning visitors, making sure everyone who wanted to come could get a turn.

Once the anglers showed up, Chen Yuan was confident that between the facilities and the service, his pond beat every other fishing spot out there — confident enough that first-timers would keep coming back.

"I’ll handle the net, I’ll handle the net — Boss just sit back and fish~"

Chen Dequan was as enthusiastic as ever, walking the perimeter with a landing net, keeping an eye on the whole pond and swooping in to help any time a customer hooked something.

Liu Fang was clearing away the lunchboxes and had also grabbed a broom and dustpan, tidying up around the fishing area.

Some anglers finished their cigarettes and couldn’t be bothered walking to the trash can — they could just stamp them out and drop them in the dustpan, or leave them nearby for Liu Fang to sweep up when she passed by.

Less hassle for the customers, and the place stayed clean.

Chen Yuan watched it all and felt completely at ease. He settled down at the base of the slope and started scrolling on his phone.

The night fishing session went smoothly — no drama whatsoever. Characters like Heavy Chummer and Three Joss Sticks were nowhere to be seen, and nobody went tumbling into the pond either.

When he figured the timing was right, Chen Yuan activated the Fish King event, sending the whole atmosphere into a frenzy. Every angler at the pond was buzzing with excitement, and the cash reward payout pushed them even further over the edge.

The Fish King title, the prize — everyone wanted it~

"Uncle Chen, Aunt Liu — head home and get some rest~"

Once the last guests had cleared out, Chen Yuan waved Chen Dequan and Liu Fang off and told them to call it a night. He didn’t rush back himself, just stood by the pond’s edge, smoking and waiting.

He hadn’t even finished his cigarette when he heard the rumble of a truck approaching from down the road.

"Ha! Boss Chen, we’re finally back on the job~"

Wang Tao jumped down from the cab, practically beaming. Two days of sitting around had been driving him up the wall.

"The village is pretty quiet at night — try to keep the noise down while you’re working~"

Chen Yuan handed him a cigarette and reminded him.

"Don’t worry, Boss Chen — it’s not like this is our first time working nights."

Wang Tao took the cigarette with a grin, lit it up, and added, "The vegetable seeds you wanted, along with the various baits and bait buckets — we’ve left them all outside the courtyard for you."

"Got it."

Chen Yuan gave a nod.

"Just need your signature on these."

Wang Tao pulled out a few sheets of paper and had Chen Yuan sign them one by one.

Chen Yuan grabbed the pen and dashed off his signature on each one. With that sorted, he gave a few quick instructions and headed back inside to wash up and go to bed. The construction work was entirely in Wang Tao’s hands now~